Ethos Collection: Guilt-free, Affordable Fashion

Guilt finds it’s place in fashion more than ever these days – certainly more than it should, if it ever should at all. There’s guilt for spending money on something you very well know you don’t need. There’s guilt for supporting an industry that has distorted our perceptions of beauty. When you learn more about the many negative impacts that the fashion industry has on the garment workers, the environment, and even on our own peace of mind, you again feel guilt for buying and owning so much. Sara Aubitz, the founder of Ethos Collection, knows exactly what that’s like, and after a trip to Peru where she experienced the tradition of weaving, she decided that it was time to take matters into her own hands and start supporting artisans across the globe through fashion.

After some research, Sara discovered many brands and designers who were already doing just that – creating beautiful products and designs, completely exploitation-free. And so, Sara handpicked her favourites and created the carefully curated online marketplace that is Ethos Collection.

Ethos is about helping women feel great about having beautiful clothing and accessories. Each item is fair trade or sustainably sourced or both and carefully selected for quality and timeless design.

– Sara Aubitz

Ethos Collection features clothing, jewelry and accessories that have all been deeply researched to ensure that they meet the high standards required of them, such as environmental consideration, fair labour practices and quality. At the moment, ten brands are available, including ethical fashion pioneer brand People Tree, your fast-fashion replacement Groceries Apparel, and beautiful jewelry from Fair Anita. Ethos Collection aims to feature only the best of the best in the ethical fashion space.

But it doesn’t end there. On top of being an awesome collection of ethical finds, Ethos Collection also invests 3% of their revenue through Kiva, a non-profit that aims to alleviate poverty by providing loans to people who aren’t able to access traditional banking systems. It’s a pretty cool system – you can track the impact and see exactly who borrowed money, where in the world they are located, and what they used it for!

As Sara puts it herself, “The purpose of Ethos Collection is to bring positive change in the world through fashion. So many people are working to escape the trappings of poverty and traditional donations help an immediate need but typically ends there. By investing in micro-lending, we are allowing people to determine their own path out of poverty and providing financial means to people and in places where credit is unavailable. As these micro-loans are repaid, we reinvest the principle so the impact grows at a compounding rate. Our impact grows faster than our sales!”

Ethos Collection truly makes shopping ethically much more simple. There are no over the top, ridiculously expensive pieces. The pieces are designed for the modern woman who refuses to sacrifice on ethics or style. And with the added bonus of investing back into communities that could use the extra boost in funds, there’s absolutely nothing to feel guilty about when purchasing your new favourite piece. Good vibes only here!